Student praises top administrative assignment

By Daniel Donan

There has been a disturbing trend that has infected Missouri Western State University as of late. Since I joined the Griffon News crew in the fall of 2006, I have seen an ever-revolving door of people spinning through the administration. It is like the stepping stone philosophy of the business world has moved into the academic one. The people in charge are only sticking around for a few years and then it is on to the next level.

It is not just at Missouri Western that this phenomenon is occurring, look at the big daddy of respected universities, Harvard, and you will find that since 2001, 15 of the 24 top administrative positions have had at least one change of who the person in power is. It is almost as if our television induced, 20-minute attention spans have now infected our powerful people’s desire to stay in one place, working for one company or supporting one idea. Say what you want about the immoral practices of the Mafia, but at least they have a concept of loyalty.

One of the things that I respect about the new university president, Vartabedian, is that when I have spoken with him about his plans, I can tell he is thinking about the big picture for the school and he has long-range plans. You don’t make long-range plans if you are planning on skipping out in a few years. When I talk to handsome Bobby V., I get the feeling that he is here to stay and that makes me feel secure.

The best sense of security I had was learning that Jeanne Daffron has been named the new Provost of the university. Now here is a person that has shown she can be depended upon to stick around and see things through. In fact she would get mad at me if I actually said how many years she has been working for Western, but believe me when I say it precedes the year that the Berlin Wall crumbled to the ground. She has played many roles in her time here and learned more than a few ropes. She knows who to talk to about what, and has a way about her that makes you want to smile. She has been on campus so long now it would not surprise me in the least to learn that she even cares about the brick and mortar in the walls as much as she cares about the student and administrative body.

The human body can only survive a heart transplant so many times, no matter how good the new heart is. Missouri Western could use a heart that sticks around for a while and from what I have experienced of Daffron, she is all heart. May that heart beat long and strong for many years to come. If Daffron is the heart for the tin-man of Western, then Vartabedian is the brains for the scarecrow, and you, the student, are the curious girl and her little dog, too. Lucky for you, I have the courage of the loin when it comes to writing the truth and I am here to roar for you. It is starting to feel like Missouri Western is finally ready to follow the yellow brick road.